Popular sportscaster Don Meredith introduced the Broncos to ABC's "Monday Night Football" audience by loudly noting: "Welcome to the Mile High City — and I really am!"

Frank Gifford quickly replaced Meredith on camera, telling viewers: "We'll be back right after these messages." Meredith had partied with advertising clients before the game's opening kickoff at Mile High Stadium.

Denver tied Oakland 23-23 on Jim Turner's 37-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in the game.

For die-hard Broncos fans, the tie was exhilarating — a fantastic finish against an archrival in Denver's debut on "MNF" after three years of being ignored by the ABC series.

The Broncos-Raiders game Monday night at Sports Authority Field at Mile High will be the series-record 17th time the teams have met on "MNF," which moved from ABC to ESPN in 2006.

This is the 22nd consecutive season the Broncos have played on "MNF." That's the longest active streak of any NFL team.

Meredith returned to that first Broncos-Raiders telecast a few moments later to provide his down-home broadcasting style. That game removed some of the frustration Broncos fans had that existed during the first three seasons of "MNF," which premiered in September 1970.

ABC and the NFL probably didn't think much of televising the Broncos nationally. The team was selling out home games, but was only 5-9 in 1972.

Fans also were unhappy because the Broncos were seldom, if ever, featured on the "MNF" halftime show when Howard Cosell narrated highlights of the league's Sunday games.

In the fall of 1972, Sweetwater, a Denver restaurant and bar on East Hampden Avenue and South Monaco Parkway, found a unique way of satisfying frustrated Broncos fans.

On Monday nights, Sweetwater management set up old black-and-white TVs in the bar and encouraged patrons to throw bricks at the screens when Cosell appeared at halftime.

The weekly stunt gained national attention — TV coverage and stories in People and Sports Illustrated magazines.

Cosell initially was indignant but later admitted that he reveled in the barrage of publicity.

"MNF" crew members, arriving on Friday before that first Denver telecast, were treated like royalty during the weekend.

Business and civic leaders treated them to parties, culminated by a Monday luncheon at the Brown Palace Hotel that was sponsored by KBTV-Channel 9, Denver's ABC affiliate at the time. Guests at the luncheon included Gov. John Vanderhoof, Mayor Bill McNichols and city council members, all of whom paid homage to the "MNF" broadcasters attired in their traditional dark-yellow jackets.

To no one's surprise, the event provided the always opinionated Cosell with a huge platform as he lectured city leaders on how they could make Denver a better place to live. Cosell even offered his ideas about restructuring the tax code.

Gifford later told me that nothing ever came close to the reception that "MNF" received the first time it came to Denver.

The Broncos lead Oakland in their "MNF" meetings, having won eight times and lost seven. And that memorable tie in 1973.

Longtime Denver journalist Dusty Saunders writes about sports media each Monday in The Denver Post. Contact him at tvtime@comcast.net.

Jim Turner still gets a kick out of being a former Bronco

As a place-kicker, Jim Turner was aware of pressure situations before he joined the Broncos. In January 1969, Turner's three field goals and extra point helped the New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III.

In September 1970, Turner kicked a field goal in the Jets' 31-21 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the first "Monday Night Football" game.

And there was his monumental field goal Oct. 22, 1973, a 37-yarder for Denver.

"Obviously, I'll never forget that game from a playing perspective," Turner, 72, said on the telephone from his Arvada home. "And I always will remember the response of the fans. How could anyone forget such a celebration?

"It was the first Orange Monday in Denver history. Fans wore orange clothing. Cars and homes were painted with orange.

"Sure, fans wanted to win. But the fact that we tied the dreaded Raiders on Denver's first Monday night appearance was a reason to celebrate."

Turner, a member of the Broncos' Ring of Fame, retired from broadcasting 16 years ago to become a "gentleman gardener" in the western Arvada area, where he had a home built after coming to Denver in 1971.

He and his wife, Mary Kay, do gardening and hiking together and also spend time with their three daughters and their grandchildren.

After retiring from the Broncos in 1979, Turner worked briefly in TV, covering network NFL games and those played by Utah State, his alma mater.

Longtime area sports fans will recall Turner's work in the 1980s as a weekday radio sports talk host. He was on KNUS 760 AM, first going solo, then teaming with Mike Haffner, a former Broncos receiver. Turner later moved to KOA radio, where he worked with Sandy Clough.

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